Dental Aid Network by Dr. Omar Iqbal

In October 2017 I was part of the first group of volunteers to go to Jordan as part of the Dental Aid Network (DAN). Partnering with PCRF (Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund), we had planned to explore and distribute much needed dental aid in Amman and Mafraq.

Being the first Dental Aid mission to this location, we were unaware of how needed this aid was or what the facilities would be like once we got there.

Hassan Ali, Arfan Ahmed and I left Glasgow and set off on our journey to Amman, Jordan. This would be a five-day mission and it started with us being greeted by our driver, Adil, who took us to our hotel in the early hours of Sunday morning.

After a short rest, we were all eager to get started. We met with the rest of the volunteers and coordinators to plan the coming days at 9:30 a.m.

There were four volunteers, who were all interns (equivalent to vocational dental practitioners in the UK) working in Amman hospital. They kindly took time off from work to help with the mission.

We were in uncharted territory, because there had never been a dental mission in Jordan before and we weren’t sure what to expect when we attended the clinics. We had brought some basic supplies and oral health packs as well as some toys for the children.

There were two clinics—one in Amman and the other in Mafraq, a city around 45 minutes from Amman and in the north of Jordan.

Together with the PCRF team, we agreed that it would be best to split up and each attend the clinics and refugee camps.

A team consisting of one DAN member and one or two local volunteers attended the clinics, and another team went out to the refugee camps to provide basic oral health instruction and begin screening for the coming days in the clinics.

The clinics were run from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., and children were bused in each morning from refugee camps to attend the clinic. At the start of the day, when all the children were sitting in the waiting room, we had a prime opportunity to provide oral health instruction to everyone. The help of our local interns was invaluable, because they were fantastic in demonstrating how to brush and going over good oral health techniques with all the children. We also went over diet and nutritional advice with both the teachers and the children; this gave them the knowledge they needed to keep it up after we went home.

The clinics were relatively well-equipped, providing the ability to perform basic procedures such as extractions and routine fillings. While we did request further instruments and materials, because of time constraints we were unable to get all the things we would have liked.

The demand for treatment was incredibly high, and as a consequence we were forced to prioritise those who were suffering in pain or had swelling to be treated first. It was amazing to see how everyone in the clinic worked together. The dental assistants were volunteers themselves and some had never worked in a dental setting, but were very quick to pick up exactly how we worked.

It truly was a team effort, because we were expected to see around 30 children in each clinic a day.

We had a lot to fit in: group oral health instruction and treatments (ranging from simple fillings to extractions) throughout the day, quite often with no break.

After the clinics had finished, the PCRF team would take us out for a meal. We were overwhelmed by the kindness of the PCRF volunteers; they also took us out to show us around the beautiful city of Amman at night. It was an amazing experience to soak up the atmosphere of a wonderful city, made even better while creating friendships with our PCRF colleagues.

Spending time at the refugee camps was a humbling experience for all of us. Seeing pictures on TV is never enough to prepare you for seeing the conditions some of these people live in. Within each camp was a school, the teacher was our point of contact for coordinating times at the camps.

The children were gathered in the school and we would perform some simple exams to assess what was needed. This meant that when they attended the clinic we were better prepared and more efficient with our treatments. Again, group oral health instructions were provided to all the children and teacher so that this may be re-enforced in future classes.

We were then able to visit and speak directly to some of the families living there. We were heartbroken by the stories of hardship and suffering they had faced. It was difficult at times not to shed a tear.

Despite this, the hospitality they showed was unbelievable. They would offer the little they had to us as guests—giving boxes of fresh vegetables which had taken them several months of hard work to grow. While we refused to take them, they would not take no for an answer and made us at least have some traditional Arabic tea, freshly brewed, before we could leave.

In the face of such difficulty these people have endured, their humility was a true lesson and eye-opener for us all.

On our final day we had a great dinner with the PCRF team. The five days could not have gone past any quicker. The main topic of conversation was the return of Dental Aid Network to Jordan. How could we help these children in the future? We could only scratch the surface to something that is greatly needed.

We didn’t come to Amman for a holiday, and we didn’t get to see much of the city. Instead, we gained knowledge from this first mission. We will be better prepared and we hope to reach even further on the next mission.

It goes without saying that this could not have happened without the hard work and warm hospitality shown by all the volunteers in Jordan and the entire PCRF team. All our needs were taken care of and we were treated like family. Thank you all so much.